Apparatus for controlling the working of material



Jan. 5, 1932. H. w. JESPERSEN 1,340,101

APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING THE WORKING OF MATERIAL Filed Jan. 2, 1929 #7 V6/? 70/ 6 6/90 wv/eqae/sm Patented Jan. 5,' 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HELGO WIGGO JESPERSEN, OF WESTERN SPRINGS, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO WESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY, INCORPORATED, OF NEW YORK,

NEW You N. Y, A CORPORATION O]? APPARATUS FORCOQNTROLLING THE WORKING OI MATERIAL Application filed .Tanuarya, 1929; Serial No. 829,888.

This invention relates to an apparatus for controlling the working of material, and more particularl 'toan apparatus for controlling the wor ing of material consisting of an admixture of solid matter and a freely flowing liquid.

In the preparation of paper'pulp for the manufacture of fibrous insulation to be deposited directly-hpon Wire cores, it is cusmass. has attained a desired characteristic which may to some extent at least be determined by its degree of slowness. Sometimes the degree of slowness of the mass has been ascertained within certain limits of accuracy by an attendant rubbing a quantity of the mixture between his fingers and judging the feel thereof.

Obj ects of the present invention are to provide apparatus for testing mixtures and controlling the o eration of a mixing device which will be simple in construction, eflicient in operation, and accurate; in results.

In accordance with the features of the invention. in one embodiment of the invention,

3 water flowing'through a hollow shaft of a screen covered drum rotated by the stream of pulp flowing from the beater, and having therein suitable means for lifting water from the pulp stream to the hollow shaft, is

' directed through a funnel member having a restricted slowness determining orifice into a reservoir from which it is returned to the pulp stream, the funnel member beingresiliently mounted so as to control the operation of an indicator or of the beater, relatively to the weight of the contents of the funnel member. Y

The invention will be more clearly understood fr'om the following detailed descrip-' tion and accompanying drawings forming a.

part thereof, in which Fig. '1 is a diagrammatic ele'vation'in sec tion showing one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view showing circuits employed in this embodiment.

A tank portion of a conventional beater machine, generally denoted by the numeral 10, is shown, as is also a portion of a beater roll 11 so positioned as to impart a well defined current to a pulp stream contained in the tank portion in accordance with the revolution o the beater roll when beating the pulp. The tank portion comprises a bottom 12, and perpendicular sides 1313. A screen covered drum 14, having sides 1515 is mountedon a hollow shaft 16, suitably journalled in supports 17 and 18. The portion 19 of the shaft located within the screen covered drum 14 is perforated while a portion 21 projectin through the support 18 beyond the sides oft edrum is non-foraminous. The opposite end of the shaft projects beyond the support 17 and is equi' ped with a-gauge 22 for determining the epth of the pulp stream in the tank, the gauge being so mounted as to seal the end of the hollow shaft 16. To the right of the tank portion 10 of the beater an auxiliary tank 23 is provided comprising a bottom 24, a left side 26 and a. right side 27. A funnel membeL-28 comprising a basin portion 29 and a spout 31 is provided at the dischar e end of the spout with a restricted orifice fixture The funnel member 28 is mounted on a horizontal support arm 33 by means of a bracket 34 secured to the arm by suitable aflixing means 36, such as bolts, rivets, etc.

The support arm 33 is hingeably secured at one end to. a bracket 37 by a bolt'38, the bracket 37 having a shelf portion 39 which holds in'position against the lower surface mit the lateral movement thereof upon yielding of the spring 46.

An electrical circuit 49 is shown (Fig. 3) in closed position for operating thebeater machine. An insulated block 50 supports a double pointed contact member 51. Associated with circuit 49 is an auxiliary circuit 52 for energizing a signal upon opening of the circuit 49 and includes a contact member 53 and a bell 54. A s stem 56 includes an inlet pipe 57 and a centri ugal pump 58 positioned to deliver the water accumulated in the auxiliary tank 23 through a delivery pipe 59 back to the pulp stream in the beater tank.

The screen covered drum 14 comprises (Fig. 2) a wire-screen covering 61 and transverse rods 62 mounted in the sides 15 and to which are suitably secured fins 63 having portions 64 which extend inwardly from the transverse rods arcuately in a clockwise direction and portions 66 which extend outwardly from the perforated portion of the hollow shaft 19 arcuately in a clockwise direction. The drum is shown so positioned that a movement of the pulp stream to the left cause a clockwise rotation of the drum. The water accumulated in the auxiliary tank by overflow from the funnel member 28 is designated by the numeral 67 and the pulp stream driven around the tank portion 10 by the revolution of the beater roll 11, is indicated by the numeral 68.

From the foregoing it will be observed that upon chargi the tank portion of the .beater with a suite le quantity of half stock and water in the proper proportions, the machine may be put in operation and the following results will ensue.

A steady rotation of the beater roll 11 will impart to the pulp stream 68 which is subjected to its action a steady flow corresponding in direction to the direction of rotation of the beater roll. As the stock and water become more thoroughly mixed, the pulpous tissues become increasingly hydrated by the action of the beater. i

The screen covered drum being mounted so that it will revolve upon the shaft 16 by the motion of the pulp stream in which it is partially immersed, a portion of the water content of the pulpous mixture will be drained through the wire screen covering of the drum and, u on continued rotation of the drum and su jection of other portions thereof to the pulp stream, will be lifted by the fin portions 66 above the surface of the pulp stream. The divergence of the fin portions 64 and 66 from each other insures a balanced pressure on each side of the wire screen 61, and prevents the deposition of a coating of pulp on the outside of the drum. Continued rotation of the drum will increase the height of the fin portions 66 above the stream and will cause the water contained therein to pour through the perforations in-the hollow shaft and be carried away through the non-foraminous portion 21 of the shaft. Assuming for instance that the hollow shaft is provided as shown in its perforated portion with one row of perforations for each of eight fins, it will be observed that a small portion of the water contained in the hollow shaft will pour downwardly through a subsequent row of perforations into a following fin. This loss, however, is more than offset by the fact ,that of a given number of eight rows of perforations in the hollow shaft, only three of them are below the level of the water in the hollow shaft at any one time. Of these, due to atmospheric pressure, the uppermost is accommodating a flow of water from a fin into the hollow shaft, the intermediate row is in a static condition pending its elevation to the position occu ied by the first and the third is accommo ating a flow of water from the hollow shaft into the third fin and adding thereby to the amount of water lifted by that fin from the pulp stream. Five rows of apertures are provided above the level of the water in the hollow shaft to accommodate a flow of the water remaining in the fins which have been carried above the level of the hollow shaft. So long as the drum is maintained in clockwise rotation, no portion of the water removed from the mixture can find its way back to the pulp stream save through the system 56 provided for that purpose.

From the perforated portion 19 of the hollow shaft the water flows through the nonforaminous portion 21 into the funnel member 28. Due to an intentional disparity be tween the ca acity of the restricted orifice fixture 32 an the rate of flow from the hollow shaft, the funnel member is promptly filled and, despite a continuous flow from the orifice fixture, continues to receive more water than it can discharge thereby, and the water overflows from the basin portion into the auxiliary tank 23 below. Between the time of starting the beater and the shortly subsequent moment at which sufficient water enters the funnel member 28 to kee the support arm 33 level, the arm may beheld down against the upward ressure of the spring 41 by any suitable late ing means or by manual effort of an attendant. Since, by continued operation of the beater, the pulp tissues become increasingly hydrated, this results in a decrease in the amount of waterlifted by the fins and a corres ending decrease in the amount delivered rom the hollow shaft into the funnel member 28. As this condition becomes more emphasized due to the approaching culmination of the treatment of the pulp by the beater, a balanced condition is ultimately attained whereupon the same amount of water is discharged from the orifice fixture 32 as is delivered by the hollow shaft 16. Subse uently, upon perfe tion of the pulp, the ow of water from ha s the hollow shaft decreases while the discharge from the orifice fixture 32 remains the same and the basin ortion 29 slowly empties itself, the: combined weight of the funnel member and its water content becomes insuflicient to balance the pressure of the spring 41 against the lower surface of the support arm 33, and-"the support arm and funnel member swing upwardly aboutthehinge 37.

Thebeveled portion 42 of the support arm bears against pin 43 in this upward movement and throws it 'backwardly against the pressure of the spring 46, affects the double pointed contact member 51 and opens the electrical circuit 49, thus stopping the operation of the beater. The same backward movement of the contact member 51 closes the auxiliary circuit 53 by contact with the auxiliary contact member 53 and rings the alarm bell 54 to notify an attendant that the beating operation has been completed. An suitable indicating means may be used in lieu of the bell 54 such as, for instance, a buzzer, lamp, etc. Any suitable conventional means for stopping the operation of the beater may be adapted such as, for instance, by the use of suitable switchlng means or contact breaking means which is susceptible of being readily operated by.

movement of a device similar to that of the support arm 33.

Since it is necessary toinsure that the pulp be of the predetermined characteristic upon completion of the rocess, and since such characteristic is partially dependent upon the maintenance of a specified proportion between the quantities of pulp and water in the mixture, the system 56 is provided to insure the return to the pulp stream of a quantity of water equivalent to that which is removed in the operation of the apparatus described above. This system includes an inlet pipe for draining the water from the auxiliary tank 23, and a centrifugal pump 58, for dumping the water into the delivery pipe 59 which discharges the water into the pulp stream in the tank portion 10.

It will be understood that the embodiment of the invention herein described and illustrated is merely a convenient and useful form of the invention which is capable of other modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an apparatus for testing pulpous mixtures, a rotating member having a foraminous portion for separating a liquid from the mixture and a non-foraminous portion for accommodating the separated liquid, and means associated with the rotating member for gauging a characteristic of the mixture in accordance with the rate of separation of the liquid.

2. In anapparatus for testing mixtures, a cylindrical member having a. foraminous portion for separating a material from the mixture and a non-foraminous portion for accommodating the separated material, and means associated with the cylindrical member having a variable orifice for gauging a characteristic of the mixture in accordance with the rate of separation of the material.

3. In an apparatus for testing mixtures, a rotating member having a foraminous portion for separating the liquid from the mixture, an associated member for accommodating the separated liquid, a plurality of fins extending between the two pulpous members for conveying the liquid from the firstmentioned member to the second mentioned member, and means associated with the second member for gauging a characteristic of the mixture in accordance with the rate of separation of the liquid.

4. In an apparatus" for testing pulpous mixtures, a rotatable screen-covered drum for separating the liquid from the mixture, a hollow shaft located centrally of the drum and supporting it and having a foraminous portion 7 and a non-foraminous portion, means for conveying the separated liquid from the drum to the perforated portion of the shaft, and means associated with the non-foraminous portion of the shaft for gauging a. characteristic of the mixture in accordance with the rate of separation of the liquid.

5. In an apparatus for testing mixtures, a a foraminous member for separating a material from the mixture, a second foraminous member located concentrically of the first foraminous member for accommodating the separated material, a non-foraminous mem ber extending between the concentrical foraminous members for conveying the separated material from the first foraminous member to the second foraminous member, and movable means associated with the second foraminous member having avariable orifice for gauging a characteristic of the mixture in accordance with the rate of separation of the material.

6. In an apparatus for testing pulpous mixtures, a screen covered drum for separating the liquid from the mixture, a shaft located within the drum, and means extending between the drum and the shaft for conveying the liquid separated from the mixture and for preventing the accumulation of the solid material on the surface of the drum.

7. In an apparatus for testing materials, a rotatingscreen-covered drum, 9. perforated hollow shaft located centrally of the drum and rotatable with it, means comprising a portion extending inwardly and arcuately in a clockwise direction from the drum and a ortion extending outwardly and arcuately in a clockwise direction from the shaft for conveying a material from the drum to the shaft and for maintaining approximately equal pressures on either side of the screencovering of the drum.

8. In an apparatus for testing mixtures, a support arm, a funnel member mounted thereon for receiving a quantit of a material and having a restricted ori ce for regulating the flow of the material from the funnel member, and means for moving the support, arm in accordance with the weight of the material in the funnel member.

9. In a machine for beating pulpous mixtures, a foraminous member for separating the liquid from the mixture, a movable receptacle for receiving the separated liquid from the foraminous member, an electrical circuit for controlling the operation of the heater, andmeans afi'e cted by the movement of the receptacle for afiecting the electrical circuit.

10. In a machine for beating pulpous mixtures, a foraminous rotary member for conveying a liquid from the pulpous mixture at a predetermined rate, an electrical circuit for controlling the operation of the beater, and a member movable in accordance with the rate of conveyance for aflecting the electrical circuit.

11. In an apparatus for testing pulpous mixtures, a rotating member for separating a liquid from the mixture, and tiltable means associated with the rotating member for receiving the separated liquid and gauging a characteristic of the mixture.

12. In an apparatus for testing pulpous mixtures, means for separating the liquid from the mixture, tiltablemeans for receiving the liquid, and rotatable means for removing the liquid from the separating means to the tiltable means. I

13. In a machine for beating pulpous mixtures, means for separating the liquid from the mixture at various rates, means for controlling the operation of the machine in accordance with a rate of separation, and rotatable means for conveying the separated liquid from the separating means to the controllin means.

14. n a machine for beating pul ous mixtures, a cylindrical member inclu ing a 0- raminous portion for separating the liquid from the mixture, means for controlling the operationof the machine in accordance with a rate of separation of the liquid, and a rotatable non-foraminous portion in the cylindrical member for conducting the liquid from the foraminous portion to the controlling means.

I In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 24th day of December, A. D.

HELGO WIGGO JESPERSEN. 

